


Agony of a Witch.

by HelenaMcCord



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Tragedy, Canon Dialogue, Curses, Eda-centric, Episode: s01e18 Agony of a Witch, Flashbacks, Found Family, Heavy Angst, Lilith Clawthorne Needs To STOP, Loss of Parent(s), Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Owl Mom, Parent Eda Clawthorne, Rewrite of Agony of a Witch, Spoilers for Episode: s01e18 Agony of a Witch, Tags May Change, Witches Duel, eda kind of adopted luz, king was in a cake the entire time, maybe? - Freeform, my name is eda and i need to stop with this owl house nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26434324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelenaMcCord/pseuds/HelenaMcCord
Summary: The agony of a witch is a terrible thing to witness. Especially when it belongs to a witch of great power. When Edalyn Clawthorne; the Wild Witch of Bonesborough felt inner agony the Isles seemed to know her wrath would come down tenfold on the one who brought the feelings out.
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Hooty & King & Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & King, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, Lilith Clawthorne & Emperor Belos, Lilith Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter
Comments: 10
Kudos: 128





	Agony of a Witch.

**Author's Note:**

> a very painful rewrite of the duel in agony of a witch :) .

The agony of a witch is a most terrible thing to witness. Especially when it belongs to a witch of great power. When Edalyn Clawthorne; the Wild Witch of Bonesborough felt inner agony the Isles seemed to know her wrath would come down tenfold on the one who brought the feelings out. It had been a rather nice day despite the coven’s earlier ambush and Luz’s realization of her health. She had managed to knit the most beautiful cape out of witch’s wool for her young apprentice while her roommate went out of his way to make a cake. She thought it was just because he had a sweet tooth, but he insisted it was for the girl. Eda hadn’t done any sort of knitting in so long that she was almost afraid to pick it up and she couldn’t waste her magic on that, but the simple thought of Luz’s smiling face when she handed the finished product to her was enough to motivate her to try. It ended up coming out much nicer than she thought it would. The wool was even a nice blue with a purple undertone that she knew Luz would love. She decided to write her a card saying it was from her proud mentor to a talented young witch, tucking it between the knit fabric before folding it and wrapping it. Surely she’d love it. Maybe she’d even do the parallel arm thing. Eda would never admit it, but she always felt ten times better with the human’s arms around her.

When she heard the commotion at the door, her pointed ears automatically quirked up as she clutched the wrapped cape in her lithe arms. “Luz!” The witch said excitedly with a smile, getting up to open the door. Her heart sank as soon as she saw the white staff with the raven palisman. She could hardly hear Willow telling her Luz was in trouble over the ringing now in her ears. Luz had gone on that trip. Lilith had taken her. Belos had finally cornered her. He had Eda in the palm of his hand, she knew. Sparing a glance at the cape in her hands, she considered using it for its original purpose which was to protect  _ her  _ against the coven. No. She had a feeling how this would end and couldn’t stand to leave Luz unprotected. She would need it more than her. “You two need to go home or something, make sure you weren’t followed and stay safe, alright?” Eda said in a tone much too serious to be her own. Gus and Willow simultaneously nodded their heads before running off while talking amongst themselves, wishing for Luz’s safety.

The two turned around to see Eda once more, but there was nothing in her place other than a small crack of yellow magic. It was known throughout the Isles that Edalyn Clawthorne was the most powerful witch due to her wild ways and knowledge of even the most raw forms of magic. She may not have been able to figure out the glyph magic her apprentice used, but she had shown her just how to find them and harness the power they granted. She was the only one known who could rival Emperor Belos and quite possibly win or at least leave a mark. But that hadn’t been tested yet. She might find out later. 

* * *

  
  


In a bright flash of yellow and white, the wild witch appeared before the emperor’s home, hovering in her place above the bridge. It fueled her anger, even more, to see her sister grinning like the cat that caught the canary below her. Without another forethought, Eda sent the raven staff forward with a blast of magic which caused it to wedge in the stone of the castle with her magic continuing to crackle around it. The fury of a wild witch was like no other. “Sister! I see that you got my invitation to a witches duel!” Lilith spoke with her arms outstretched. She was too happy with how this was going. Eda was unphased. With a spell circle surrounding her body, she held an arm out to send out her damage spells before lunging forward to hopefully cause Lilith some more distracting damage to find Luz. In her fly around, however, there was no sight of her. Returning to the front of her sister to go forward once more, Eda demanded, “Where is she?” Just as she made her second charge, Lilith put a hand forward while she clutched her staff in the other behind her. “Easy now,” She spoke with a deadpan which was enough to halt Eda where she was, “The human is safe.” Seeing Luz come forward within the blue orb caused Eda’s chest to tighten. It began to hurt when Luz called her name in distress. “You can have her back provided you do as I say. Renounce your wild ways and join the Emperor’s coven. He can help heal your curse!” Exclaimed the older Clawthorne.

A snarl had made its way to Eda’s face, her fangs looking all the more threatening with the golden of the two glistening while her eyes were filled with rage. “Don’t believe everything that  _ bonehead  _ tells you. He doesn’t want to heal me, he wants to control me!” She spat, her eyes going from her sister to Luz. Lilith moved into a fighting stance before responding, “Then I will take you in by force.” Eda saw this as her opportunity to showcase how powerful she truly was and to hopefully get Luz out, though it didn’t escape her how weak her body felt with each surge of adrenaline and power. She was sure her power would run out. Eda lowered herself to the wood beneath her, her boots clicking on the surface as she now spoke with a smirk, “You’ve always looked down on me because I’m wild, but fortunately that just made me work harder than you!” The eyes of her palisman shone brightly before she spun her staff in her hands, bringing the tip down before her to bring out a large golden owl behind her. The owl was her spirit, her power. Lilith might have been powerful, but she was no match for her. 

Eda’s own eyes began to glow golden where she stood surrounded by light. It made her silhouette look black and frightening. It made Lilith tremble though she’d never tell that. She moved forward in a flash of light, knocking Lilith back into the sky before appearing behind her to do just the same thing once more. It became a game of cat and mouse rather quickly. Lilith would try to hit Eda then Eda would try to hit Lilith. From Luz’s point on the ground, she could see the corresponding flashes of yellow and blue light up the dark sky. It could have gone on forever, but Lilith shot down at Luz, causing her to roll away and Eda couldn’t be certain if she was going to stay on the bridge or not. Her eyes widening in panic, Eda darted down calling her name before getting a step ahead to move the wooden boards to catch Luz and roll her back onto the bridge. She thought they had a moment. She wanted to call out to her little human and supply some form of temporary comfort. But Lilith came back down to her sister’s level to continue their duel. With quick movements, Eda leaped out of the way before Lilith could collide with the surface of the wood that remained with a burst of blue sparks around her.    
  
With what she could muster while feeling that shiver run up her spine again, Eda shot what looked to be sparks initially in Lilith’s direction before they turned into replicas of her house demon wrapping around her body. Hooty always proved useful even when he wasn’t around. She began to spin her staff around until she could feel enough power build-up to direct it at Lilith, but of course, Lilith was too sly for her. With a flick of her finger, she brought Luz directly in front of her. Eyes going wide, Eda redirected her magic to hit off-center so as to not hurt Luz. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if anything happened to Luz. The fatigue was quickly catching it up with the owl witch now. Panting, she called, “Stop hiding behind Luz, you coward!” As soon as she uttered the last syllable, she let out a weak moan as she felt more of her magic waning. Each time the gem in her sternum lost more of its color she would feel an aching pain and sudden fatigue. She had been ignoring it the entirety of their duel, but now it was climbing back to get her. Lilith knew all too well. “It’s sad to see you slowing down, sister. Tell me- is it the curse?” Of course on that note, the chittering sound her curse made echoed from her chest and more of her magic faded away. Remembering what Eda had said earlier, the human cried, “Eda, your gem! You-” Eda could hardly hear her. She knew it was for the best.

“Maybe it is the curse, but then how pathetic are you that you can’t best me at my worst?” Eda said sternly, bringing herself up to cast another spell circle- this time that would form around her and bring many others about in the sky to shoot down upon Lilith. The sky again filled with yellow while Lilith cast a blue shield around herself. It wouldn’t take much to break it. Eda would just have to try harder. “Maybe you are stronger than me, but that made me work smarter. I became a sharp- crafty!” Lilith boasted from behind her barrier, but Eda could only snarl. “A lapdog for a tyrant!” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the shattering of the blue orb Luz had been encased in and could only hope for once Luz had enough sense to stay out of it. “You’ve always thought you were better than me! That I could never beat you at anything!” There was a beat between her final word and Eda’s next spell, a crack in her shield echoing as soon as it touched. “I am better than you!” The next words Lilith spoke were never ones Eda expected to hear. In fact- they were the last ones she would think to come out of her sister’s mouth.

With venom in her tone, Lilith yelled, “Then why were you so easy to curse!” The words tasted like bile on her tongue and she swiftly covered her mouth.

A soft gasp came from the owl witch, her spells relenting for a moment. Her own sister. Her older sister who swore to protect her, who would split the pain of wounds physical and emotional for her, who would comfort her during the boiling rains, who would help her clean up after a transformation. The transformation that was her fault. The words rang in her ears.  _ “Then why were you so easy to curse!”  _ Eda had been sleeping. She was asleep when her sister snuck into her room to curse her for the rest of her life to become an uncontrollable owl beast. It was the day before the coven tryouts. She had gone to bed early to save energy for the duel even though she planned on forfeiting for Lilith. She still had to show off. But Lilith cursed her. Her sleeping, little sister. All these years she never once considered Lilith. Her curse had been slowly killing her over the years, her hair grey, her body slowly giving up on her, her magic dimming from time to time, her mind fading. It was not only aging her faster but slowly turning her into the owl beast. All witches were born with a set of fangs, but they were never so prominent as the gold one Eda had sported for the past few years as a result of her curse. Lilith had teased her throughout the years of how her curse had aged her and worn her down. She had done it. She inflicted it upon her  _ in her sleep. _

Reaching a hand out to her sister, Lilith began to stammer, “And I have the power to remove it if you would just let me explain!” Eda couldn’t stand to look at her any longer. She turned away, her grip on her staff tight enough to shake, before abruptly making the decision to charge while shouting her frustration. Her cry of agony. Lilith collided with the castle wall, breaking the stone. Luz began to shout, “Eda, stop! Your magic!” Once again the chittering sound filled the air accompanied by Eda’s panting. She was too far gone to care. Lilith had cursed her and taken her apprentice. The time for mercy was gone. The other Clawthorne noticed her sister’s gem losing more of its color and smirked as she lifted Luz up in a cloud of blue. “Human, that orb was for your protection,” She said before dropping her over the side of the bridge. Eda snapped out of her angered state when she heard Luz’s cries. Terror gripping her once more, she drew a spell circle big enough to help her save Luz while calling her name, her voice cracking. She lifted a hand to try and bring the human back up, but cried out between her teeth in pain. Her body was trying to shift. Her hand was throbbing as the curse was trying to force feathers and talons to sprout. 

Of course, Luz continued to tell her to spare her power. “Eda, stop! You’ll run out of magic!” Eyes screwed shut in pain, Eda spoke, “It’s my power, kid, and before you showed up I spent my whole life wasting it.” The blue witch looked on with a smug expression before casting a similar spell to form a solid illusion of her hand pressing the human’s body down closer to the spikes beneath. “Eda, no, no, no!” Giving her gem a glance, Eda knew there wasn’t much time left. She was almost done for. But there was no way she’d rather go out. She never thought she’d ever get so attached to someone. She had learned years ago to not show that she cared. It only led to her getting hurt or something backfiring. But when Luz showed up her world shifted. She not only found an apprentice and friend in Luz but something similar to a daughter of her own. Luz was her owlet, she realized. There was no other way for her to go out than protecting her own. Looking back to Luz, she gave a soft smile much like the ones she offered on the nights where Luz would find herself curled up with Eda in her nest or on the couch practicing glyphs with Eda’s words of encouragement. 

“Alright, kid, listen to me,” Eda began as she felt her eyes grow warm and her vision dim, “I’m going away and I don’t know if I can bounce back this time. Watch over King, remember to feed Hooty.” She could faintly hear Luz begging her not to use her last bit of strength on saving her over the hum of the curse, but they both knew Eda wouldn’t listen. She was too stubborn, reckless and selfless for that. She had a good run. Her life had been fun. This was what she was meant to do. Her hand shaking more so in front of her, Eda spoke her final words, “And Luz, thank you for being in my life.” Once the last word slipped past her lips, the owl witch fell to her knees with a cry of pain. She could vaguely see Owlbert detach himself from her staff to save Luz before she fell back. Right as he brought her back onto the bridge next to Eda, she gave her final cry which mingled with the howl of the owl beast. The transformation never got less painful and in that moment it hurt the most it ever had. The feathers sprouted through her skin at the fastest pace they ever had, wings growing from her back while her body contorted, her mouth filling with sharp teeth and her eyes going a complete black along with her gem. There was no more Eda. Only the owl beast.

The owl beast got up and began inching toward the human and the smaller owl with a steady, soft snarl coming from her. Normally she would have pounced already, but something in her foggy mind told her not to. It told her to protect her owlet from the blue woman behind them. She couldn’t let the woman hurt her owlet. She attempted to lunge at the girl to grab her and run, but the blue woman had already trapped her in bonds, dragging her body back behind her. The beast could only cry out and snarl. She needed to get to her owlet. The owlet needed her. She tried desperately to open her wings and free herself, but it was no use. She was stuck. For the first time, she cried. Tears welled in her black eyes, sliding down her face. She couldn’t understand why the sadness was there and why she felt this primal need to protect the owlet, but it was overriding everything else in her body. 

“Come along, sister, now we can let the healing begin,” Lilith said before shooting a glance at Emperor Belos who watched just above them before he left the scene entirely. Luz jumped onto the witch, grabbing her how she could as she cried, “You monster!” There was a bit of struggle from Lilith before she threw Luz to the other side of the platform. “Leave, human!” She bit out as she grabbed Owlbert from where he hovered in the air, “Edalyn is finally with her family. Her real family.” The white tip of her staff collided with the wood in a small burst of blue sparks, causing the bridge to retract from the other side of the gorge. “Go back to your world, this one is ours.”

The owl beast gave its final cry before the doors were shut and she could no longer see her owlet. The cry sounded like a name. 

_ Luz... _


End file.
